Becoming a teacher: A study of pre-service teachers' concerns

Learning to teach is seen as a continuous process. Graduation from the initial teacher education programme is thus the first stage on which further professional developments are based. Studies have shown that shifts in teacher concerns are an indication of professional maturity. Therefore, investigations into teacher concerns provide a substantial basis for planning and implementing teacher education programmes. The present study aims to portray the professional development of Hong Kong pre-service primary teachers at the exit point of the pre-service teacher education programme. Measurements of teacher concerns of the student-teachers at the point they graduated from the programme were made. Follow-up interviews were conducted to find out the influencing factors that affect the perception of the student-teachers. The paper concludes by drawing on the implications of the findings on the design of the initial and further teacher education programmes. Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.